BRASILIA — The lead prosecutor in the trial to oust Brazil’s first female president said Tuesday that Dilma Rousseff had committed fraud in her accounting practices.
Speaking on the fifth day of a trial to decide Rousseff’s fate, Janaina Paschoal said the leader had broken fiscal responsibility laws in managing the federal budget. ‘‘We are not dealing with a little accounting problem, we are dealing with fraud,’’ she said. ‘‘It wasn’t just that a president lied,’’ she said. ‘‘The fraud was spoken and the fraud was documented.’’
Wrapping up her presentation, Paschoal came to tears when she said she hoped Rousseff would be forgiving for ‘‘having caused her to suffer.’’
The dramatic presentation came in the final phase of a political fight that has consumed Latin America’s largest nation since an impeachment measure was introduced in the lower Chamber of Deputies last year.
After the prosecution and defense present final arguments, the Senate will vote whether to permanently remove Rousseff from office.
Opposition senators accuse Rousseff of using illegal means to hide holes in the federal budget, saying that exacerbated a recession, high inflation, and layoffs.
Rousseff, a former guerrilla fighter who was tortured and imprisoned during the country’s dictatorship, says she broke no laws and notes that previous presidents used similar accounting measures.
On Monday, she mounted that defense in the Senate, arguing she was forced to make tough choices in the face of declining revenues and a refusal by opponents in Congress to work with her. ‘‘I know I will be judged, but my conscience is clear. I did not commit a crime,’’ Rousseff told senators.
For Rousseff to be removed, at least 54 of the 81 senators must vote in favor. Local media report at least 52 senators have said they will vote for her ouster, while roughly 18 are opposed and 11 have not said. In May, the same body voted 55 to 22 to impeach and suspend her.
Watching the proceedings was Rousseff’s mentor and predecessor, Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, who is himself under investigation. He and many top leaders have acknowledged Rousseff’s chances of surviving the Senate vote are slim. Rousseff reminded those in attendance she was reelected in 2014 with over 54 million votes.
